Recently most British Television has become FREE to view. This means NO subscription for the following channels:
All ITV channels, ITV1, 2, 3, 4 & All BBC channels, BBC1, 2, 3 ,4

Channel 4 Channel 5 and SKY 3

To watch these 3 channels you will need a Sky digital receiver (or similar), and a card. But still there is no need to pay any subscription.

Dish size
The weaker signal over Spain means you will need a larger dish. A Prime Focus dish gives better reception from a weak signal than an Offset Focus dish. In the Alicante, Torrevieja areas, for instance, a 1.4m Prime Focus dish should be OK. If you want an Offset Focus dish, then you should get something a bit bigger, such as 1.5m. But generally, from Valencia to Murcia, and in Madrid, 1.8 m dish is recommended if you have the room for it. On the Costa Del Sol, a smaller dish will give reasonable results. 1.2m Prime Focus should be sufficient, however, the larger, the better.

Sky TV in Spain
The great advantage to having Sky TV in Spain is being able to get BBC1, BBC2, ITV1, ITV2, C4 and C5.

There seems to be 3 ways to get Sky TV in Spain.

You buy a Sky TV Digibox through a local installer in Spain. Some installers can get the card for you too.

You buy a Sky TV Digibox from a friend. Your UK based friend will need to buy a Sky Digibox and get the card. Sky sends the cards separately via post upon receipt of a subscription form. Subscription prices vary.

The third option is to buy a Sky TV digibox yourself while you’re still in the UK. This way you have the opportunity to take advantage of their special offers. Sky is always offering bonuses for new signups, but the catch is that you’ll have to keep your digibox plugged into a UK based phone line for 12 months before you can disconnect it (and bring it to Spain). After the 12 months, the subsidy contract is fulfilled and you’re free to keep it disconnected, otherwise when they run checks throughout their system and find that you’re not connected you’re liable to be cut off from Sky TV service. You run the additional risk of having to pay out the bonus costs that you originally took advantage of as well. And of course there's always EBay with a stack of second hand boxes for sale.